Sugar Glider Types

Sugar gliders are a type of marsupial, and are in the same family as kangaroos and koalas. They are called sugar gliders because they love sweet things. They are about 12 inches long from nose to tail, but about half of that length is just the tail, which is about 6 inches long. Sugar gliders are small, exotic pets. Their colorings vary depending upon what type they are.

  1. Ringtail Mosaic

    • Mosaic sugar gliders are also known as mosaic ringtail sugar gliders. This is because of the ringtail pattern on their tails. Mosaic sugar gliders have white spots on their body, feet and tail. They may also come in different colors, such as a white face with platinum fur.

    White Tipped

    • White tipped sugar gliders have white tips on the end of their tails. The tips can be tiny, like just a few hairs, to more than 2 inches long. White tipped sugar gliders that are born in captivity usually have parents who are normal-colored sugar gliders.

    Black Beauty

    • A black beauty sugar glider may have the coloring of a standard sugar glider, which is black, white and gray. The only difference is the black coloring on a black beauty is very, very dark. Black beauty sugar gliders also have a black beard, or a patch of dark coloring that stretches from ear to ear. The beard looks as if it almost connects under the chin.

    White-Faced Blonde

    • The white-faced sugar glider is named for its lack of a bar under its ears. Normally sugar gliders have a bar under their ears. The white-faced blonde sugar glider has a mutation that removes all trace of this bar. Its fur is a light blonde color with golden or cream highlights throughout.

    Albino

    • An albino sugar glider has pure, snow-white fur and red eyes and does not have the black or stripes as other sugar gliders have. The fur is sometimes another color of white, such as a light cream color, but this type of sugar glider has an incomplete dominant gene. Sugar gliders with this incomplete gene are used for breeding more albino sugar gliders.
      An albino sugar glider may also have pink eyes. Pink-eyed albinos have a diluted gene, but they are still called albino and both types are extremely rare.

    Classic Grey

    • The classic gray sugar glider is the standard among the breed. Their coat is gray with a black strip down the middle of their back. They also have many black markings throughout their fur, with a lighter gray or cream color on their bellies. The tips of their ears and tail are also black with a black colored bar behind each of their ears.